NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has asked the Election Commission to share instances of use of its discretionary power to remove or reduce the period of disqualification of convicted politicians who were otherwise disqualified to contest elections for six years.
According to Section 8(3) of the Representation of People Act (RPA), 1951, a person convicted of an offence and sentenced to imprisonment of two or more years, stands disqualified from the date of conviction until six years after their release.
However, Section 11 of the RPA empowers the EC to remove or reduce the period of disqualification but the poll panel has to record reasons for doing so.
While hearing a 2016 PIL seeking a life ban on convicted politicians and expeditious disposal of criminal cases against lawmakers, a Bench led by Justice Dipankar Datta on Tuesday asked the EC to furnish in two weeks details of cases in which it has exercised its power under Section 11.
The top court asked petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay and others to file their rejoinder to the EC’s affidavit in two weeks after the commission furnished the details asked for.
As another PIL on the issue filed by Lok Prahari was pending before another Bench, Justice Datta referred Upadhyay’s petition to the CJI Sanjiv Khanna for clubbing the two cases and listing them expeditiously before one Bench.
The direction to the EC came after senior advocate and amicus curiae Vijay Hansaria said the details of removal or reduction of period of disqualification of convicted politicians were not available and these should be furnished to the Bench to enable it to take a considered view of the matter.
Citing the EC’s documents, senior advocate Vikas Singh submitted on behalf of Upadhyay that charge-sheeted individuals should be debarred from contesting elections.
The EC’s lawyer said he had no difficulty in providing the details sought by the Bench with regard to exercise its powers under Section 11 of the RPA even as he sought to clarify that the provision was not under challenge.
Asserting that it was a matter “within the legislative policy of Parliament”, the Centre had on February 25 opposed the PIL seeking to debar convicted lawmakers for life from contesting polls, forming political parties and holding any post in a party.